The Sandy Hook Hoax: What if it was?

I have to admit, I try not to pay too much attention to the news.
It tends to depress me and I just don't have time to be depressed about things that don't even involve me.

So when a girl I went to high school with recently posted on her Facebook page something about the Sandy Hook Hoax, I was all...what?!
And then I was like... are you even kidding me right now?

And then I went to the most reliable source I know of...google.

And sure enough, when I typed in "Sandy Hook Hoax" my screen was instantly filled with article after article about all the "evidence" and "proof" that it was all a big huge conspiracy and it fooled us all.
Well, most of us.
Except for the super smart handful of people who are smarter than the rest of us.

I am very well aware that this is a sensitive issue.
We are talking about lives being lost.
The lives of innocent children. And it is not something that I am trying to just talk about lightly.
There is nothing to take lightly about any life.
God values life. More than any other thing!
He created it, and He created us in His own image.
God does not take life lightly, and I certainly do not either.

But as I started researching and looking at article after article of this supposed hoax, I was totally struck with this thought. (and please understand that I do not at all,  believe that it was a hoax.)

What if it was? What if it was?
Would I live my life any differently?
Are they living their lives any differently?

And that is the screaming question that I wanted to ask these people doing the research.

These men and women who have spend countless hours...hundreds, maybe?
Studying out pictures to see if one person is smiling and one is not.
Researching news reports to see if any of them contradict each other.
Digging up death certificates, birth certificates, the weight of guns and ammunitions, the stories of the victim's families, and on and on and seriously on it goes.

And for what?
What have they gained?!
What if they had taken all those hours they had spent looking into these nonsensical ideas and invested them into the lives of people around them?
Maybe at a homeless shelter, a food kitchen, or some other mission.
What if they had taken all those hours and maybe served other people, instead of trying to wreak havoc on the lives of the families from Connecticut?
It's hard to even imagine the amount of wasted time put into this.
Just downright. Wasted. Selfish. Time.
And I assume it is all for attention? I don't know what else it could be for.

And if it wasn't so disgustingly insensitive and downright rude, it would be laughable.

Unfortunately, people love and adore bringing articles like those to the forefront so everyone can see them -
while articles like mine, and others that come from the point of view of love and compassion never see the light of day.
So even though those obnoxious articles are easy to find, while the nice ones are not... it's ok.
It's not going to stop me from writing.

So say they were right after all. It was all a big conspiracy to trick all of us.

What if it was? (which it wasn't)

That shouldn't change the way you live your life.
Not even at all.

And how should I be living my life?
Well, Micah 6:8 sums it all up for us in one simple sentence.
The question? What does God require of me?
The answer?
To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.

I will tell you what things like this make me want to do.

It makes me want to love people more.
It makes me want to show that there are more people who want to do good for others than those loud obnoxious ones who want to mistreat others.
It makes me want to act justly myself. And teach my children to do the same.
It makes me want to love mercy. And be a family who reaches out to those in need, making us forget about our own smaller needs.
It makes me want to walk humbly with God. And show others that being humble before a loving, powerful God is the only way to peace and true satisfaction.

So...what?
What if it was? What if it was all a hoax?
I'm not even going to be reading another stupid article about it.
Because the truth of the matter is, I am responsible before God for how I live my life, not how they live theirs. And when I am spending my time reading their thoughts, it is keeping my thoughts from where they should be.
I just wrote about that this week...the incredible challenge in keeping your thoughts right!
Don't let a few loud people ruin things for the rest of us.

Take those thoughts, all that energy, that passion and invest it into something more worthwhile than researching deranged people's views.
It's just gonna rob you of the joy that belongs to you.

And to all of those families who are already grieving enough, I am truly sorry that you have to be going through this. I am praying for peace and comfort for all of you.